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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29207985">Tenderness</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesohmaestate/pseuds/thesohmaestate'>thesohmaestate</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fruits Basket, Fruits Basket (Anime 2019), Fruits Basket - Takaya Natsuki (Manga)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Cuddling &amp; Snuggling, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, Post-Canon, There is no plot, i don't know how to tag, made them extra lovey dovey</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 05:54:53</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,227</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29207985</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesohmaestate/pseuds/thesohmaestate</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A lot has changed throughout the years they've been together. Theirs isn't quite a new love, but nothing about it has lost its novelty: the fact that Tohru chooses to be with him. That she chooses to live life with him by her side.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Honda Tohru/Sohma Kyou</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>64</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Tenderness</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Greetings, fellow Kyoru clowns. This is my first fic for the fandom AND the first I've written in 7 years. It's short, but I hope you like it.</p><p>Thank you @ <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/sparklyfaerie">sparklyfaerie</a> for beta reading. I love you 3000.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Saturday finds Kyo and Tohru getting ready for a night in as snow falls beyond the walls of their home. White has obscured a good portion of their windows, and Kyo lets out an exasperated sigh at the sight; even though he’s lived in this house for a little over three years, he dreads having to shovel snow out of their front yard whenever winter comes into full swing. </p><p>Then again, he <em>is</em> fully aware that he brought this on himself. This is what he gets for taking up the offer of moving to one of Japan's coldest regions.</p><p>"It's colder than usual. Don't you think so, Kyo-kun?" Tohru asks, holding a bowl of popcorn. She's wearing a sweater over her pyjama top and three layers of socks, despite being indoors with the heating on.</p><p>"Yeah," Kyo says, settling under their kotatsu. "The forecast said we're in for the coldest night of the year."</p><p>Once he's settled, he motions for Tohru to join him. "C'mere."</p><p>"Yes, sir!" Tohru puts the bowl of popcorn on the kotatsu before lowering herself to sit between Kyo's legs, sliding her own under the futon that covers the small wooden table. She leans against him, her head snug under his chin. He grabs the blanket next to him and wraps it around them both by circling his arms around her, completing their transformation into a two-person blanket burrito.</p><p>Sighing with contentment, Tohru says, "I feel so warm already, Kyo-kun."</p><p>Kyo's lips pull into a small smile. He kisses Tohru's cheek. "Me too."</p><p>"I wish it was always cold outside."</p><p>"That's a weird wish. Why?"</p><p>"Because I want you to hold me like this all the time."</p><p>He lets out a chuckle. "I've held you like this plenty of times before, haven't I? We've already been through three winters here, you know."                     </p><p>"Yes, but…" Tohru pauses, before turning her head back to look at him, prompting him to meet her eyes. "...I can never get enough of you."</p><p>Kyo thinks that after three years of being with Tohru, he should be over the butterflies and the blushing—but oh <em>boy</em>, is he wrong. </p><p>"Alright, you big flirt," he says, trying to keep his tone nonchalant despite his heart beginning to race. He pokes her cheek. "The movie's about to start. Better keep your eyes up front."</p><p>Tohru pouts (which only makes Kyo's heart beat faster. She's too adorable), but she complies and fixes her gaze on the TV in front of them, relaxing into him. </p><p>"Kyo-kun," she starts, "your heart is beating so fast."</p><p>He hums. "Is it?"</p><p>"Yes. Are you alright?"</p><p>"I'm okay. But it's your fault, you know."</p><p>"My fault?"</p><p>"When you say things like <em>'I can’t get enough of you'</em>, I get overwhelmed and my heart gets all sorts of worked up."</p><p>"But it's true, you know. It feels like with every day, I only want you more and more."</p><p>"See, stuff like that," he teases, bonking her head gently with the soft part of his balled hand. "If you keep saying stuff like that, I don't think it'll be good for my heart in the long term."</p><p>"I should make you more heart-healthy lunches, then. Maybe something with a lot of leafy greens?"</p><p>"You're just <em>so funny</em>, aren't you?"</p><p>***</p><p>In all honesty, Kyo doesn't remember <em>exactly</em> when, during their little snowed-in movie night, they decide to ignore the movie and go straight to making out. The last thing he recalls is Tohru telling him that her lips are cold... </p><p>...and the rest is hazy.</p><p>The blanket has been shucked off and cast aside. Through half-mast eyes, Kyo catches a glimpse of a commercial break behind Tohru, who's now straddling him, arms circled around his neck. He has a hand cupping the back of her head, her hair twisted between his fingers, and another resting on the dip of her waist, kissing her lazily as if there is nothing else in the world for him to do but this. She presses against him gently, arching her back, and when she runs the flat of her tongue over the seam of his bottom lip, he opens his mouth to her.</p><p>The warmth of her throat pours into his, and Kyo's brain turns to mush—he can't think, can do nothing but drink her in, each breath as it comes. He lifts the hand on her waist and slides it through her hair, pressing his fingertips tight against her scalp to pull her closer, so much closer, until there's nothing but their clothes keeping him from fusing into her.  </p><p>The first few times they made out, Kyo didn't know what to do with himself, didn't know what to do with all of Tohru—all of the <em>woman</em>—in his arms. But as time goes by, he learns. Each time, he learns the feel her pale skin, soft as the velvet of flower petals. He familiarises himself with the smooth length of her neck and the curve of her spine. He comes to know of the way she kisses him senseless, and how she breathes life into his nerve endings with every touch.   </p><p>Kyo pulls away to hike Tohru's sweater up and over her head. In his head, he does it smoothly, in one fell swoop, but what <em>actually</em> happens is that it gets stuck around her neck and face—only her arms manage to break free from the woollen prison. </p><p>They both break into a giggling fit, and Tohru's voice comes muffled from under the sweater. "Kyo-kun, I can't see!"</p><p>"I know, I'm sorry," he chuckles, his mirth not quite subsided. "How d’you get this thing off?"</p><p>"I got it." She grabs the sides of the sweater, and with a dramatic <em>"Heave-ho!"</em> she tugs at it, successfully yanking it over her head in one go. She gasps for air, brown tresses cascading down around her with strands of it sticking to her face from the static.</p><p>Smirking, Kyo smooths out her hair. “What's with the 'heave-ho'?"</p><p>"To summon more strength," she says lightly, casually dropping the sweater next to her. "I called on the power of my ancestors.”</p><p>He lets out a snicker. "Well, that's a bit extreme..."</p><p>"Mmm…" Tohru doesn't seem to hear him. She cups his face in her hands and runs a thumb along his cheekbone, touch soft and eyes fond. As he looks into her eyes, she smiles at him—warm and radiant and so full of love, and Kyo can't believe his luck. A lot has changed throughout the years they've been together. Theirs isn't quite a new love, but nothing about it has lost its novelty: the fact that Tohru <em>chooses</em> to be with him. That she <em>chooses</em> to live life with him by her side. </p><p>She <em>loves him</em>. Sometimes, Kyo wonders what he did in a past life to deserve someone as wonderful as her.</p><p>He pulls her close, and it's as if the space between this kiss and the last is a single draw of breath. He lets his hands roam the flannel of her pyjama top before slipping under it, feeling warm skin against his fingertips as he traces small circles on the sides of her breasts with his thumb. Tohru moans at his touch, breaking away to put her lips on his neck and bear down, wringing out strangled gasps from his chest. </p><p>"Tohru…" he breathes out as she licks at the skin she's reddened. "Tohru…tell me what you want." </p><p>"<em>Kyo-kun</em>," she murmurs into his neck, "I want you to keep me warm tonight."</p><p>*** </p><p>He wakes up to Tohru in his arms. </p><p>For a good portion of the night, Kyo could feel nothing but heat—from their mingled breaths filling the bedroom, to the feverish sensation that greeted his mouth when he adorned every part of her with kisses. From the feel of her bare skin against his own, to how good pleasure looked on her. It almost made him forget that it was supposed to be the coldest night of the year...</p><p>…though, in the end, they <em>did</em> put their clothes back on before they went to sleep. It really was too cold for them to sleep wearing nothing under the covers.</p><p>It's still early. The sun is just under the horizon, and the bedroom is bluish-pink in the early morning light. Kyo kisses Tohru's sleeping face, just under her eye. He trails the tip of his nose up her cheek and kisses her lashes. She stirs, still asleep, and he smiles as he brushes a rogue strand of hair away from her face.</p><p>Seeing Tohru curled up against him makes his mind wander to the first time he woke up next to her. They were both eighteen, still living under Shigure's roof. They had been dating for a few months, and the house was empty save for the two of them—so they took the opportunity to make out on Tohru's bed, kissing each other silly and letting their hands roam. When things had risen to a boil, she had told him that she loved him, that she'd never wanted anything or anyone as badly as she wanted him.</p><p>And Kyo had cried. </p><p>He didn't know why. All he knew was that tears wouldn't stop streaming down his face, the way they did on the day his curse broke. He wrapped her in his arms as though she would disappear at any moment, drawing her into him as he let himself cry into her shoulder. He felt the world come to a standstill—nothing seemed to really exist except for Tohru and the comfort of her arms around him. She held him tight, pressed her face into his hair, and let him cry.</p><p>Once he managed to gather himself to speak, he told her—how it still didn't feel real to him that he could embrace her. How he thought he'd never have the chance to be by her side, to love her and cherish her properly. He loved her so much that it often scared the living shit out of him. She was everything his heart desired and more, and it scared him to think that he could crush her under the immense weight of his feelings. </p><p>He was a mess, but Tohru was kindness and patience wrapped around an unshakable heart. She held him and kissed him and told him that it was okay, even if she got crushed.</p><p><em>"I wouldn't be afraid,"</em> she had said. <em>"Because I love you too much to care."</em></p><p>In the end, they fell asleep together on her bed. When Kyo woke up in her arms, he had thought that it was a dream—but his dreams were unpleasant at best and terrifying at worst. He had never dreamed of something as nice as Tohru, so soft and serene and warm. </p><p>He’d wanted to wake up to her every morning. </p><p>"Kyo-kun?"</p><p>Her voice startles him out of his thoughts. He blinks at Tohru, already wide awake, bedhead and all. He must look funny to her because she giggles, then pecks him on the lips. </p><p>"Good morning."</p><p>"Morning," he says, as his heart slows back to normal. "How long have you been awake?"</p><p>"A couple of minutes."</p><p>"And you just… stayed there?"</p><p>"You seemed to be thinking pretty hard. I didn’t want to disturb you. And besides," she snuggles into him, "I want to stay like this just a little longer."</p><p>He chuckles at Tohru's request. "I don't hate that idea."</p><p>So they lie there, sharing each other's warmth in the quiet, watching as golden rays of the early morning sun peek through the blinds. </p><p>After a while, Tohru says, "Kyo-kun?"</p><p>"Hmm?"</p><p>"What were you thinking about?"</p><p>"Well," he turns to look at her, "I was thinking about you."</p><p>She props her chin on his chest. "Me?"</p><p>He runs his fingers gently through her hair. "Yeah. Just thinking about how lucky I am to be with you."</p><p>"I feel lucky to be with you too, Kyo-kun," she sighs. "Whenever I see you, I feel like my heart will swell so much that I'm afraid it’ll get too big for my body."</p><p>He laughs softly. "Dummy. If your heart's swelling so much, we're gonna have to take you to a hospital."</p><p>"It's because I love you a lot," she smiles. It's one of those smiles that makes him weak in the knees. "Loving you... spending our days together, and living with you...it is truly wonderful."</p><p>His chest tightens, and he figures maybe this is what Tohru feels when she said that her heart swelled whenever she looked at him. "Even in a house this old with a toilet that keeps getting clogged?"</p><p>She nods. "Kyo-kun, you should know by now - I’ll never worry about any of that, as long as we're together."</p><p>Hearing that, Kyo can’t do anything but grab her face and kiss her.</p><p>God, he loves her</p><p>He <em>loves</em> her.</p><p>"Tohru," he says when he pulls away. "Let's stay together for a long time."</p><p>She brings a hand to stroke his face, looking at him like he's the most precious thing she's ever laid eyes on. "Of course."</p><p>There’s a growl, and Kyo feels his face redden when he realizes it came from his stomach.</p><p>Tohru blinks at him, then lets out an airy laugh. "I think it's time for breakfast."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is inspired by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl9_Nl2bbgA">in the bed by swja</a>. When I first heard this song, all I could think about were these two snuggling in bed, so now, here we are :D</p><p>I'm on tumblr! Come say hi at <a href="https://thesohmaestate.tumblr.com">thesohmaestate!</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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